Republicans defeat bill to expand TennCare with federal funding

Mar. 12, 2014

State Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley.

Written by

Max Smith

The Tennessean

Despite an impassioned appeal from House Democratic leader Craig Fitzhugh, Republicans on Wednesday defeated a measure to bring federal funding to Tennessee to expand TennCare.

“I ain’t too proud to beg” Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, told the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee before the bill he sponsored failed on a 5-3 vote.

House Bill 1723 would have expanded TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, only for as long as all of its funds came from the federal government through the Affordable Care Act. Tennessee could receive as much as $1.4 billion in federal funds.

Much of Fitzhugh’s argument for his bill centered on the “economic and literal survival” of many small, rural hospitals in Tennessee, where a higher proportion of patients rely on Medicaid to pay their medical bills.

“As schools, as fire departments, as police departments, hospitals are an integral part of these communities” Fitzhugh said.

He said that the issue was not a matter of “R or D,” and predicted that “if this was not a part of Obamacare, there wouldn’t be a problem. … It would be a no-brainer.”

Rep. Kelly Kiesling, R-Byrdstown, voiced his support for the legislation, regardless of his personal disagreement with it.

“Always vote your district first, not your heart,” Kiesling said. “My decision is based on the fact that I have four small hospitals in my district … and they are struggling.”

State Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, voted against the bill. He noted that the Affordable Care Act has been changed 31 times, and expressed reservations about supporting legislation that could change “with the stroke of a pen.”